Harry Potter: the Early Days
by butterfloofies
Summary: A canon fic telling in more detail the stories of Snape, Lily, and James. Also some focus on the Marauders and the other students that went to Hogwarts at that time. Rated T just in case.
1. Prologue

**This will stick to canon, but with more details and stuff, and it'll focus more on Snape, Lily, and James (and possibly the other Marauders) more than anyone else. Although if I do end up playing up Snape and Lily before Lily and James get together, you'll just have to forgive me.**

**In the future, as I continue writing this I plan on adding a lot of other characters that should've attended school with above mentioned students. But most of them had vague birthyears so I just kinda stuck them randomly in a year that they might've been born in. And I had to make up some first names and personalities. So if you have evidence that suggests otherwise, please inform me. **

**Which brings me to: if I get anything wrong, please forgive me and tell me, so I can change it. The whole world of HP is so big that as much as I love it, I don't know everything.**

**Disclaimer: I (so very very sadly) do not own any of this. It all belongs to J.K. Rowling, who has my eternal gratitude for being able to pure magic into letters and words.**

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><p>The day James Potter was born was a joyous one. Charles and Olivia Potter, the lucky parents, received many congratulations from the entire Potter family, while little James was showered with kisses and words of adoration. Already proving to be a very personable baby, he cooed and laughed with his new family, who cooed and laughed in return.<p>

This was a small glimpse into the baby boy's childhood– one filled with unconditional love and doting relatives; a hearty, proud father; a loving, caring mother; toys and sweets that would've made any child jealous; and an elegant house to come home to every day.

Of course, from the day he was born, James Potter was exposed to magic. His first toy was a stuffed dragon that walked around and breathed little spurts of harmless fire; his first candy was a pizza-flavored Bertie Bott's Bean; his first book was _Q is for Quidditch; _when he got his first cold, his mother sped to the kitchen to whip up a quick remedy from her _For Your Little Baby _potions-remedy book; and the first thing he learned after walking was flying on his brand new toy broomstick.

Seven days before his second birthday party, little James was zooming around on his broomstick when he became momentarily distracted by a gnome in the yard and flew straight into a tree. Charles Potter had been reading the newspaper and wasn't able to reach his wand quickly enough. Luckily for the Potters, however, James demonstrated his first use of unintentional under-age magic as he gently floated to the ground. Charles hollered for Olivia, who rushed out of the house to give her son a big hug, and the elated couple celebrated their son's first magic use/second birthday a week later.

As he grew, James gained a very small amount of control of his powers– already proving him a naturally above-average wizard, as most young wizards had no control over their powers at all. Of course, skill ran in the family, as both Charles and Olivia were very talented magical beings, thus explaining their high household income and very comfortable life. As for little James, his talent continued to be nurtured in his happy home by loving parents– all in all, an easy life.

–––

Daisy Evans had an unusually smooth, painless childbirth when she brought her second darling daughter into the world. The little girl arrived right on time, beautiful and bright-eyed, inquisitive about her surroundings rather than bawling like most children. She cooed and smiled, reaching for her mother, father, and curious two-year-old sister.

"Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Evans," the nurse said, handing the couple their child. "What's her name?"

"Lily," Daisy replied, cuddling her daughter. "Lily, a pure beautiful white flower."

"She's a special one, she is," Henry Evans whispered as he gently kissed Lily on the forehead.

"I know, Henry, I know," Daisy beamed at her new family. "Petunia, darling, do you want to say hello to your new little sister?" Henry gently ushered shy Petunia closer to Lily, who reached a small, chubby hand to her new sister. Petunia slowly offered her hand, which Lily grasped firmly, leading their parents to hope for a strong bond between the two sisters.

And a strong bond it was. Lily followed Petunia everywhere, and she looked up to her older sister as a role model. Petunia eagerly took up her role as older sister and helped teach Lily to crawl, walk, run, speak, read, write, and so on, even though Petunia was only two years older. Under the guiding hand of her mother and father, who were both upstanding citizens, Lily was infused with a strict, moralistic attitude; a desire to achieve and succeed; and most importantly, a loving heart.

The girls grew up in the town of Cokeworth, in a quaint home supported by their working father and stay-at-home mother. They were not wealthy, but certainly not poor, as there was always food on the table, clothes in their closets, and a warm home to live in.

Now, the Evans were a very normal family– more loving and caring than many– but normal, still. The last thing Henry and Daisy Evans expected was to give birth to a witch. It was only one hour before Petunia's seventh birthday party, and all the decorations were perfectly set– the balloons were pumped, the streamers hung, and Henry had just walked with the specially-ordered, Cinderella-themed cake. As he walked toward the table, he stumbled over a chair, and the whole family watched the cake fall from his hands and splatter all over the floor. They stared at the frosting-filled mess before Petunia let out one wailing scream.

"Oh dear, oh dear," Henry mumbled, still unable to believe what had just happened.

Daisy, however, recovered much faster, "Henry, is there still time to buy another cake?"

"Well, dear, there is, but this was specially ordered for Petunia. I don't think there's enough time to ask them to make another one," Henry frowned.

"My cake!" Petunia wailed. As Henry and Daisy discussed how to best remedy the situation and Petunia stood sobbing over her Cinderella cake, Lily sat quietly wishing with all her heart that they could somehow get that cake back. Petunia had been looking forward to her cake all week, ever since she'd learned that the baker could make themed cakes.

And then, a miracle happened. The cake began to lift off the floor, the little pieces started to clump back together, and the Cinderella and her prince figurine placed themselves correctly on the cake. The family froze, again unable to believe what had just happened.

Henry rubbed his eyes and stuttered, "D-did that cake–?"

"It worked, Daddy, it worked!" Lily cried out.

"What worked, sweetie?" he asked slowly.

"I-I just wished really hard that the cake would get better…and it did!" Lily exclaimed. Though the rest of the Evans family was still surprised, they let it go in time to receive their first guest without a trace of unease. However, Henry and Daisy kept a close eye on their Lily for a few months, but nothing out of the ordinary occurred.

As Lily grew, other strange, magical occurrences swept through her life, and soon the Evans knew that their daughter was more special than the ordinary special. Little Lily, meanwhile, with all her curiosity and love for knowledge, began to ponder over her powers and learned that she could control them at a simple level. While these new develops pleased Mr. and Mrs. Evans, the same could not be said for Petunia, who although subconsciously, was beginning to harbor jealousy and bitterness toward her sister.

–––

"Where were you?" Eileen Snape demanded of her husband, Tobias, as she entered their old, beat-down house (although shack would be a better word), carrying a baby.

"I was…working," Tobias entered, looking away.

"Working? That is the best excuse you can give to your wife, who just gave birth to your child?" she screamed.

"I never wanted a child!" he retorted, now furious. "Least of all one who– who can do magic!" He spit out the last word, glaring at the boy, who was now bawling from all the screaming.

Eileen's expression darkened and she stomped away, barely trying to comfort the crying child.

The boy was named Severus, after Eileen's late grandfather and much to the dismay of Tobias, although he did not argue. Little Severus was not cared for well as a baby, nor as a toddler, nor as a child. He was raised in an atmosphere of neglect and near-poverty. Tobias, having dropped out of college upon meeting his future wife, failed to earn any degree that might have increased his salary; Eileen, meanwhile, had suffered at her job after her marriage began to fail. The two were often arguing, and Tobias sometimes would take out his anger on the boy. Little Severus spent much of his early childhood, sobbing in a corner as his parents argued, although as he grew, he found that running away to the nearby park or poring through his mother's old Hogwarts textbooks was much more relieving.

Eileen, though, cared for the boy much more than her husband did, although that did not amount to much. She _did_ celebrate the boy's first use of magic when he lost his only toy, a Muggle-made stuffed bear, and made it magically reappear. Tobias was absent at the little party.

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><p><strong>Reviews? :D<strong>


	2. Chapter 1

Lily had glared at the Snape boy as her sister pulled her from the playground, but she wasn't truly upset at him. In fact, she was curious. With her natural curious nature, Lily was very intrigued by the boy's words. A witch, he had called her, and himself a wizard. But it couldn't _really _be true, could it? Yet…it would explain so much– the flying, the flowers blooming at her command, the cake from five years ago on Petunia's birthday.

And it would explain much about him too. Lily had heard rumors about him before. Severus Snape, she believed was his name, was the boy who lived in the downtrodden house at Spinner's End. There was a curious rumor that Lily had once heard. Severus was being teased by a much bigger boy once, and somehow a very sturdy tree had fallen on the bigger boy. He was sent to the hospital right away, and had never been quite right since.

Lily needed to speak with him again. She needed to find out if he was telling the truth. And so, a few days later, when Tuney was at her sewing class, Lily made an excuse of visiting a nearby friend and instead, ran straight to Spinner's End. As she neared Spinner's End, the houses became smaller and older, and everything turned grayer. Finally, at the very end of Spinner's End, there sat a house that Lily knew to belong to the Snape household. Lily timidly knocked on the door.

A hook-nosed man wrung the door open and demanded, "What is it?"

"I'm looking for Severus, sir. I'm…a friend, sir," Lily whispered, certainly not used to be addressed in this tone of voice.

"What? A friend of his?" the man barked. "The boy has no friends. Oh! You– you're one of _them_, aren't you?" His lip curled in disgust as he spit out the words.

"I–I," Lily stuttered.

"Oh, it's you!" a happily surprised voice called out from behind the hook-nosed man. Lily gave a half-grin and a wave. Severus ran over to her, took her by the hand, and pulled her away, throwing a few glares at his father who was ordering him to return home. Lily followed the greasy-looking boy, whose coat was flapping out behind him, all the way to the playground. They finally stopped near the play structure and plopped onto the grass under the shade of a leafy tree. "You were looking for me?" Severus asked eagerly.

"I was," Lily hesitated, "because I was wondering…about what you said the other day."

"About witches? And wizards?" Severus asked, urging her on.

"Yes," Lily declared, "and I wanted to know… are you lying to me?"

"No, no," Severus assured her as he threw up his hands defensively.

"You promise? You pinky promise?" Lily asked, offering her pinky. When Severus locked pinkies with her and nodded, she finally relaxed and smiled. "Then tell me," she urged, "tell me everything."

And so he told her– everything he knew about magic, about Hogwarts, about the wizarding world. He told her about the letter from Hogwarts, and how it was delivered by owl. He told her about the sorting hat, and all the rumors he'd heard about the test. He told her about the four houses, and each of their attributes, although he did play up Slytherin a bit. "What if we're not in the same house? Will you still be my friend?" Lily asked, and Severus replied, "Of course I would! There's no way I'd ever leave–" but he stopped and picked up a handful of leaves and started tearing them apart. He told her about each of the subjects, and Lily remarked, "I think I should like Charms." He told her about the Dark Arts, but they didn't dwell long on this subject, for Lily did not take well to it.

He told her about the Ministry of Magic, and how it managed the entire wizarding world. It even sent letters to misbehaving children who used magic outside of school, which Lily worried about desperately but Severus assured her it was alright. He told her about Azkaban, and the dementors, and what they did to you, and Lily was terrified but intrigued all at once.

He even told her about the different bloodlines, but only a little bit. He did, however, take care to assure her that being Muggle-born was perfectly alright, and she rewarded him with a warm smile.

And they got to know one another better. Lily learned that Severus's parents were always fighting and that this was a delicate subject. Severus learned that because of all their little park meetings discussing magic, Petunia was very upset with Lily. Sometimes, the two had little quarrels, but eventually they smoothed things out and once again, began fervent discussions about Hogwarts.

They got to know one another better, and began to truly enjoy each other's company. The two looked forward to their little meetings– Lily loved learning new things about the wizarding world everyday, and Severus loved to see Lily's bright and eager eyes as she drank in his information. Severus, also, had gained his first real friend, someone who liked him despite his hand-me-down clothes and shaggy appearance. Lily knew that he appreciated her for this and really did like this boy, who, despite all the rumors, was very kind and caring to her. And this was the bond of friendship that kept them together.

Mr. and Mrs. Evans became curious of Lily's new friend, and asked their daughter to bring him over for dinner. Lily invited Severus over, and after a big of urging on Lily's part, he accepted. It went fairly well. Mr. and Mrs. Evans, meanwhile, took to the shabbily-dressed boy, who was truly trying hard to be polite in order to impress his best friend's parents. They questioned him about his family, and upon learning his situation, pitied him, took to him even more, and told him he was always welcome. Lily was overjoyed. Petunia sat through the whole dinner pouting.

–––

"Good day, I am Minerva McGonagall, professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," a tall, thin-lipped woman recited as she stood in the front door of the Evans household.

"I-I'm sorry. What?" Daisy Evans asked, staring at the woman as if she were demented.

"I am Minerva McGonagall. I am from Hogwarts, a school dedicated to teaching young witches and wizards. I was in the area, so I was sent to present a letter accepting your daughter, Lily Evans, to our school."

"Well, come in then," Daisy ushered the strange woman inside to their living room.

After a cup of tea had been made and Professor McGonagall had explained every little detail about witches, wizards and Hogwarts, Mr. and Mrs. Evans were satisfied. No, more than satisfied. They were elated– they'd always known that their daughter was special, but today they'd found out she was a witch. Henry and Daisy Evans were brimming with pride, positively overjoyed for their daughter. After they'd inquired after school supplies and learned of Diagon Alley, the couple was itching to take a peek into the wizarding world. "Perhaps Severus could come with us?" they suggested.

"He is _not_ going to that stupid wizard school!" Tobias Snape hollered at his wife. Other times, Eileen Snape would cower at her husband's tone, but not this time. Normally Eileen didn't pay much attention to her son, but this mattered– he would go Hogwarts, regardless of what Tobias said.

"I am sending him there, no matter what you– what anyone– says," Eileen asserted firmly.

"I did not raise my boy to go to some freakshow school and learn _magic_," Tobias growled.

"You didn't raise me at all!" Severus interjected angrily.

"Severus! Stay out of this," Eileen ordered. She turned to Tobias and pulled out her wand, and said, emphasizing every word, "Tobias, Severus is going to Hogwarts, or so help me I will…"

"You wouldn't," Tobias snarled, but fear was intertwined in his words.

"For this, I would."

"Fine! Let the boy go! I've never cared for him anyway." With those words, Tobias growled at his son and stomped away.

A knock on the door and a greeting from Lily forced little Severus to bite back his tears as his mother answered the door.

"Good day," Henry Evans greeted Eileen Prince with a hesitant but still cheery smile.

"And you would be?" Eileen inquired coolly.

"Oh, well, Lily's father," Henry replied.

"Ah, Severus's…friend," Eileen studied the redheaded little girl smiling at Severus.

"You see, Lily's gotten a letter from Hogwarts as well," Henry explained, "and we must make a visit to Dag-Dia-Diagon Alley. So my wife and I were wondering if Severus would like to join us. Of course, you and your husband are very welcome as well."

Eileen mused over his offer before answering, "I do not think my husband will be keen on attending, and I myself am a bit busy. But I am glad to accept your well-timed offer to take Severus off my hands. He has been there many times with me before, so he should be able to take good care of himself. I expect that he will not cause any trouble." She looked at Severus, who nodded eagerly.

"Alright, then. Tomorrow, say…ten in the morning?" Henry asked, to which he received a curt nod.

–––

"Well, here it is, Diagon Alley," Severus gestured proudly at the crowded alley, teeming with wizarding families and prospective Hogwarts students.

"Wow," Lily whispered, as her parents stood agape next to her, all drinking in the scene. Petunia staunchly refused to come, so she was staying with her aunt for the day.

"You can exchange Muggle currency for wizarding currency over there," Severus pointed at a small booth with many open-mouthed Muggle parents waiting in line. As the two children followed Mr. and Mrs. Evans to the exchange booth, Severus leaned over and asked, "Do you like it?"

"Do I like it? Are you joking, Severus? It's amazing! It's- it's everything I'd ever imagined magic to be! Let's stop by every shop! Every single last one!" Lily exclaimed, beaming at her friend. Severus only heard a few of her words– he was too busy admiring how pretty she looked when she smiled.

And soon, they were off. True to Lily's words, they went through shop by shop, stopping here and there to buy some school supplies (mostly for Lily, as Severus had his mother's old ones) and admire toys, books, fancy gadgets, and whatnot (also mostly Lily, as Severus had been here before).

"Willow, 10 ¼", phoenix feather, he says! Look Mummy," Lily presented her wand, for her mother to admire as they exited Ollivander's. "How about you, Severus?"

"Ebony, 10", unicorn hair," Severus answered, holding out his wand for her to see.

Now wands in hand, the two children ran off to continue exploring the rest of Diagon Alley. Lily paused for quite some time in the Apothecary, examining the various potions ingredients. She then made another long stop at Flourish and Blotts. "Mummy, Daddy! Look at this one!" Lily yelled, pointing to a bright red book titled _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_. "I should like a Puffskein," she remarked as she flipped through the pages. Meanwhile Daisy Evans was enthusiastically poring over _One Minute Feasts – It's Magic!_ with her husband as Severus skimmed through _A History of the Dark Arts_.

Their next stop was Eyelop's Owl Emporium, as Mr. and Mrs. Evans were celebrating their daughter's attendance of such a fantastic school. Lily immediately chose a beautiful, though quite large, male barn owl, which took to her right away. Kasper, as the shop keeper had called him, was a bit wary of the greasy-haired boy at first, but when Severus (at Lily's urging) began offering Kasper owl nuts, the two became fast friends also.

When they finally finished all their shopping, the sky was already turning a fiery red, so the small group stopped by a restaurant in Muggle-London for dinner.

–––

As Lily lie quietly in her bed that night, she could hear Petunia's slow breath in the bed next to her, but Lily herself could not fall asleep. In just a week's time, she would be off, headed for Hogwarts with her best friend. And there, she'd do spells, brew potions, and do things she never thought imaginable. It was going to be a fantastic adventure, every last moment of it.

There was, however, the smallest bit of guilt nagging at her. Lily secretly knew that Petunia had sent a letter to the headmaster at Hogwarts– she and Severus had done a bit of snooping when Severus became curious as to how a Muggle letter could reach Hogwarts– but Petunia had been rejected. And Lily wasn't blind to Petunia's increasing bitterness. But what could she do, other than the promise that she would write and bring back souvenirs of Hogwarts? She had already accepted the invitation, and this had made her parents so proud. Maybe she would even become so good at magic that she could teach some to Petunia next summer.

And this was the thought that eventually put Lily to sleep, as she dreamt of high castle walls and magic spells and simmering potions and every thing.

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><p><strong>Reviews would actually be super duper appreciated at this point, because I don't really know how good this is.<strong>


	3. Chapter 2

"This seat taken?" a shaggy-haired boy with a wide grin asked as he opened the door to one of the compartments on the _Hogwarts Express._

"No, go ahead," a slight, bright-eyed boy answered. "So, what's your name?"

"I'm Sirius. Sirius Black," the first boy answered, offering his hand.

"James Potter," the second boy replied, shaking Sirius's hand.

"Nice owl," Sirius remarked, pointing to a great horned owl in a cage next to James.

"Thanks," James grinned. "Name's Latham. He looks a bit mean, but he's really a nice fellow," James said as he fed Latham a few nuts.

"I wish I had an owl," Sirius sighed.

"Why don't you?"

"My mum won't let me. She doesn't trust me with an owl."

"Shame. They're so useful, aren't you Latham?" James stroked his owl.

"Tell me about it."

"Are you a first year?"

"Sure am."

"Same here. So I take it you're from a wizarding family?"

"I am, actually."

"You like Quidditch?"

"Do I? I love it!"

"Awesome! What's your favorite team?" James asked.

"Puddlemere United, since the day I was born," Sirius declared proudly.

"Same!"

"Who's your favorite player?"

"Jocelind Wadock."

"But she's retired."

"I know. But she's a personal hero. Record for most goals scored in the 20th century. How can you not admire someone like that?"

"I do alright. I just hope her replacement's as good as she is. Anyway, my Quidditch hero is Phil Williams. Now _he's_ a talent."

"He's alright– more than alright, I admit. But I hear his son, Benjy Williams, plans on joining Puddlemere."

As they continued chatting, a gently crying girl had rushed into the compartment and sat wordlessly with her face pressed against the windowpane. A greasy-looking boy followed her in, trying to comfort her. James and Sirius ignored the newcomers, until–

"Slytherin? Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" James asked his new friend, after hearing the greasy boy express desires to be of Slytherin house.

"My whole family have been in Slytherin," Sirius sighed.

"Blimey, and I thought you seemed all right!" James said, effectively cheering Sirius up.

His friend replied, "Maybe I'll break the tradition. Where are you headed, if you've got the choice?"

James grandly lifted an imaginary sword and said, "'Gryffindor, where dwell the brave of heart!' Like my dad." Upon hearing the greasy boy, Snape, make a noise, James turned on him, "Got a problem with that?"

"No," the boy replied, sneering, "if you'd rather be brawny than brainy–"

"Where're you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?" taunted Sirius.

"Come on, Severus, let's find another compartment," the girl, who had stopped crying now, said, pulling her friend away.

"Ooooo…" laughed James and Sirius, mocking her lofty voice. James stuck a foot out to trip Snape as he passed, and yelled out, "See ya, Snivellus!" before the door slammed shut.

"A git, that one is," Sirius muttered.

"I really hope he ends up in Slytherin. Far away from us."

"You really think I could be in Gryffindor?"

"Sure I do. You seem to have got what it takes," James grinned, patting Sirius on the back.

"James, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

"I think it is, Sirius. I think it is."

–––

"Sirius Black!" Professor McGonagall called out.

"Good luck," James whispered to his friend, who nervously ascended the steps to put on the sorting hat.

"_Gryffindor!_" it boomed, and James saw Sirius let out a sigh of relief. As Sirius walked by James, they gave each other a high-five, and Sirius made his way to the Gryffindor table. Several students later, James noticed the girl from the train compartment called. She was sorted into Gryffindor, and James grinned to himself that 'Snivellus' wouldn't be getting his way. James himself was called and sorted into Gryffindor, and he sat down next to Sirius, who had already made another friend, a boy named Remus Lupin.

"I'm starving," Sirius remarked.

"How exactly do they are to serve all of us?" someone at the Gryffindor table asked.

James took the liberty to answer, "My mum and dad said they use magic, and the food just appears."

The asker, who turned out to be Lily, took one look at James, and scoffed, "Thank you, but I wasn't asking you."

"What's with her?" Remus asked.

"A bit stuck-up, if you ask me," Sirius shrugged.

Their conversation was interrupted by the voice of the headmaster, an aged wizard named Albus Dumbledore.

As he beamed down at the students, he said, "Welcome! A warm welcome to all first years, and a warm welcome back to all other students. Now, a few words: Frizz! Gaffe! Thognat! Skanda! Enjoy your dinner!"

As he sat down, everyone cheered and food magically filled the plates. _As good as Mum's food is, this is amazing!_ James thought, as he tried just about everything in front of him: roast beef, sausages, steak, bacon, roast potatoes, mashed potatoes, and Yorkshire pudding, stopping only momentarily to add his opinion to a conversation. Only when most students had had their fill did the conversations begin to pop up.

Remus had turned to this small, mousy boy named Peter Pettigrew, and the two had begun to discuss which classes they were anticipating and which teachers were mean or nice. Peter was expressing his fears of being disliked by all the teachers, as he admitted he didn't think he was very good at magic. Lily was whispering to her new friend, Mary MacDonald, that she had actually tried a few of the simpler spells at home, although luckily she had received no letter. Lily occasionally glanced at the Slytherin table and waved to the greasy-haired boy.

Sirius was busy talking to the Gryffindor ghost, Nearly Headless Nick, about the teachers. "Who's that one?" Sirius asked, pointing to a thin-lipped, strict-looking woman.

"Professor Minerva McGonagall, head of Gryffindor house," Nick answered. "A strict but fair teacher and a very skilled witch."

"Hey! You're Nearly Headless Nick!" James interrupted. "I've heard about you."

"Good things, I hope?" Nick asked.

"More or less. Less," James grinned, which offended Nick, who floated away to introduce himself to some other students.

"I don't understand how you can be _nearly_ headless," Sirius remarked, helping himself to some cake now that the main courses had cleared away and desserts had replaced them.

"His head's only partly cut off," a chubby-faced, but quite smart-looking boy who sat nearby explained. "I'm Frank Longbottom, by the way."

"Sirius," he shook the other boy's hand, as James introduced himself as well.

"It's nice meeting the Gryffindor ghost. All I've ever heard of is the Bloody Baron and Slytherin this and Slytherin that," Sirius muttered.

"Who?" James asked.

"That's the Slytherin ghost. The rest of your family from Slytherin, then?" Frank mused.

"Yeah, but I'm the first of my _entire_ family in Gryffindor. And proud of it too," Sirius grinned.

"Well, then. We're always ready to welcome eager, new Gryffindors," Frank smiled. "So you're both first years, eh?"

"Sure are," answered Sirius. "You?"

"I'm in my third year. Workload's getting worse, so enjoy your first year while you can," Frank warned.

Soon dinner was over, and Dumbledore had warned the students about the Forbidden Forest and all the other things Filch the caretaker insisted upon. They sang the school song, then were ordered to follow their respective house prefects. A tall, muscular boy called out, "Kingsley Shacklebolt; Gryffindor prefect; first years, follow me." The first years were led up staircase after staircase until they finally stopped in front of a portrait of a fat lady, who swung open to reveal the Gryffindor common room on the word 'snufflepodkin.' The boys hung around for a while, but were soon ushered to bed.

To their delight, James and Sirius were put in a four-person room with Remus and Peter. They lay awake for a few more hours, whispering excitedly about the next day, but soon the boys began to drift asleep one by one.

–––

"Severus, it's okay," Lily assured her friend as they walked through the halls of Hogwarts on their very first school day. "Just because we're in different houses doesn't mean we can't be friends. There's no rule against that."

"I know, Lily," Severus mumbled, "but I'd really hoped…"

"Aw, Severus," Lily smiled, giving him a hug as he turned bright red. "I'll see you later in potions, okay?" He nodded, still blushing, and Lily skipped away to find her Transfiguration classroom.

"Ms. Evans, just in time," Professor McGonagall said as Lily walked into the classroom. Lily sat down next to her friend, Mary MacDonald, just as the bell rang. "Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts," she declared, immediately silencing the entire class. "Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned." She had barely finished her speech before she changed her desk into a pig and back again. All the students whispered excitedly among themselves, speculating what amazing things they would be doing. To everyone's disappointment, they received many notes, matches, and the order to transfigure the matches into pins.

After half an hour of practice, Professor McGonagall walked around the room to assess everyone's work. She gave most students a mere glance, some a grimace, but stopped completely at James and Sirius's table with a very pleased look on her face. She picked up both their matches, which were now completely needles, and announced, "This is the first year in a very long time that I've had _two_ students able to completely transfigure their matches to needles. Take five points each for Gryffindor." With that, class was dismissed.

"I can't believe it!" Lily heard Sirius exclaim as all the Gryffindor first years migrated to the Charms corridor. "We're already on her good side! And we barely had to do anything!"

"You heard her, Sirius," James smirked. "First time in _years_ that she's seen two students as brilliant as us." His remark was met with many giggles, laughs, and general appraisals.

Lily rolled her eyes, scoffed, and pushed past them to get a good seat in Charms class. "What's her problem?" she heard Sirius ask behind her.

Charms was taught by a tiny, happy wizard named Professor Flitwik, who began the lesson by saying, "Let's begin with one of the simplest spells, _Lumos_, and later its counterpart,_ Nox_. They're very handy, very handy." He gave a quick a quick demonstration, a very short lecture of its origins and uses, and set them to work right away.

In the first few minutes, wands were flickering on and off; no one was able to obtain a steady light. A few more minutes passed, and Lily was the first to successfully perform the _Lumos_ spell. To Flitwik's delight, her wand was producing a steady, bright light, which earned five points for Gryffindor. She immediately began to work on _Nox_, feeling a bit proud of herself. Finally, other students began to catch up, most only able to create a dim light. The Charms lesson ended with Flitwik praising Lily's skill and admiring her wand's preference for charm work.

The end of Charms marked the beginning of lunch. Lily happily made her way to the Great Hall and found a seat at the Gryffindor table. She glanced around for Severus many times, but never once spotted him. Lunch ended and Herbology began. Compared to the earlier two classes, it was much less interesting, but that's not to say Lily didn't pay attention and take careful notes on the properties of shrivelfigs.

Potions was the class Lily was truly looking forward to, as it was her first class with Severus. "Severus!" Lily motioned at him to join her table as he walked into the room. "Where have you been all day?"

"Hello Lily," he replied, gazing at her as if he hadn't seen her for centuries. "It's good to see you too."

"Really Severus, I missed you at lunch."

"I stayed behind to speak to Professor McGonagall, then I went to work on some homework."

"You didn't eat? Severus! You're already too skinny!" Lily would've continued reprimanding his dietary habits, but was interrupted by the teacher.

"Hello, class. I am Professor Slughorn, the Potions master," the teacher introduced himself before beginning role call. He paused at several names, asking certain students about their famous relations. When a student confirmed that famous relation, Slughorn would always beam and reminisce for a minute or so before continuing role call. "James Potter? Would your grandmother be Ellen Potter, the famed potioneer then?" When James answered in the affirmative, Slughorn continued, "I read a while ago that she perfected the draught of peace, another exemplary feat to add to her long list of accomplishments. You see her often, Mr. Potter?"

"No, sir," James answered, at which Slughorn's smile faded a bit. However, James continued, "She's traveled to Norway to work on perfecting the Invigoration Draught, so I only see her on holidays."

Slughorn's smile returned as he added, "Well, I do hope you've inherited some of your grandmother's talent."

"I hope so too, sir," James grinned.

After roll call, the lesson began. They were given a few notes, then began working on the first potion in the curriculum: a simple potion to cure boils.

To their delight, Severus and Lily were the only people at their table, so they were allowed to spread their things out a little. "I'm so excited, Severus!" Lily whispered to her friend as they gathered ingredients. "It's like everything we imagined it'd be."

"I told you, didn't I, Lily?" Severus beamed, as if all the amazing experiences Lily was having at Hogwarts were solely because of him. His smile faded, and he muttered, "I still wish you were in Slytherin though."

"Oh Severus, I know," Lily replied, absentmindedly stirring her potion. "I was thinking that too. Then we'd have all our classes together."

"And we'd be able to stay in the same common room," Severus continued. "And we could see each other all the time, and–" He stopped, and turned away and began to fiddle with his porcupine quills.

"But Severus, it doesn't mean we can't hang out all the time," Lily grinned, turning her focus to her own potion. To her surprise, her potion had turned a perfect fiery orange, although many students were having trouble at that stage. "Say Severus, look," she said, pointing to her cauldron.

"How're you getting that color?" he asked.

"I think it's when I started stirring my potion. Try something for me, will you? Instead of moving on to the horned slugs, can you stir your potion after you add the quills?" she asked. Severus obeyed her directions, and to their delight, his potion immediately turned the same color as hers.

A loud explosion interrupted their thoughts, and they turned to see Peter Pettigrew standing with yellow gooey liquid splattered all over his face. The entire class had burst out laughing, including James and Sirius (which Lily thought awful rude of them, since they were all supposed to be friends), and only Remus was helping the poor boy clean up.

"They're such prats," Lily muttered under her breath.

Severus smiled approvingly at her comment, and said, "If they stopped laughing at their friend, perhaps they'd notice their potions aren't the right color either." He had said this quite loudly, whether intentionally or unintentionally Lily didn't know, but it was enough to draw Sirius's, who was the closest to them, attention.

"Well, _Snivellu_s, if you stopped worrying about other people, perhaps you'd notice that your grease is dripping into your potion," Sirius jeered, with a nasty grin on his face.

"At least his potion is the _right_ color," Lily interjected.

"You sure about that?" Sirius grinned, and before they could stop him, he tossed a flobberworm into Severus's potion, causing it to change to a murky green color and bubble ominously. Sirius laughed at their shocked expressions before turning back to his potion.

"Severus, quick! Leech juice!" Lily ordered, as Severus ran off to grab some. Lily quickly added a dash of leech juice to Severus's potion and it immediately calmed down, though remained the same color. "I read somewhere that leech juice can reverse the effects of flobberworm," Lily explained.

"Right you are, Ms. Evans," Slughorn suddenly said. "Five points to Gryffindor for quick thinking that helped avoid what would have been a rather sticky situation."

"Thank you, sir," Lily smiled.

"Now, Mr. Snape, we must not fool around with our ingredients," Slughorn warned.

"But sir, he–" Lily began.

"Of course, sir. I'll be more careful next time," Severus answered quietly.

"Severus!" Lily whispered after Slughorn had left. "Why didn't you tell him?"

"It's what they want, Lily. Just– just ignore them," he sighed, turning back to his ruined potion.

"Severus," she said with a tinge of disappointment in her voice.

"I'd rather not talk about this." They both fell silent and turned to their respective potions.

By the end of the lesson, Severus's potion was still a murky green color; however, Lily's potion had turned a lovely pink, which drew Slughorn's attention right away. "My, my, this is beautiful," he praised. "Rarely do I see such a first year perfect the Boil-Cure Potion. You are quite a promising potioneer, Ms. Evans. Perhaps, you're related to Altheda Evans, the late potioneer who created the Oculus Potion?"

"I don't think so sir. I'm Muggle-born," she replied, causing some Slytherins to snicker.

"Oh," Slughorn raised his eyebrows, not even trying to cover his obvious surprise that a Muggle-born could brew a perfect potion. But he recovered and gave her his sincere praise, "Well, Ms. Evans, take five well-earned points for Gryffindor."

As the class filed out, Severus congratulated Lily on her accomplishment, but she replied sadly, "Severus, don't say that. You would've gotten the same praise had those _idiots_ left you alone. You should've just told Professor Slughorn."

"Slughorn wouldn't– AHHH!" Severus suddenly toppled forward, pushed to the ground by a blast from behind. Lily whirled around to see James Potter standing smugly with his wand pointing at Severus.

"Sirius here told me what you said about us, Snivellus," James smirked, his tone bitter. Severus brushed his hair out of his face, as Lily helped him up. The other Gryffindors had stopped to watch the scene, and many were laughing.

"Looking for this?" Sirius asked, holding up a 10-inch ebony wand.

"You know, Snivellus, maybe if you cut your hair, you'd actually be able to see what was happening. Get it cut, before it becomes too long," James grinned. He pointed his wand at Severus and muttered something. The already embarrassed boy's cheeks turned a flaming red as he noticed his hair begin to grow and grow and grow. The bystanders burst out laughing, and it was apparent James and Sirius were enjoying the attention. Other than Severus and Lily, Remus was the only one who wasn't laughing, although he wasn't protesting either. Lily, meanwhile, was trying to find a way to help, but she'd never encountered such a jinx and merely stood helplessly next to her friend.

Severus's hair had already reached the ground before Professor McGonagall appeared, furious. "What is going on here?" she demanded, silencing the students without even raising her voice. No answer was needed, however, for her to understand the situation. "Mr. Potter, Mr. Black, no magic in the halls. That's ten points from Gryffindor. _Each_," she added when they began to protest. To the rest of the crowd, she commanded, "To the Great Hall, all of you! Before I take any more points!" The students fled the scene, horrified to personally encounter the wrath of Professor McGonagall. "Mr. Snape, I can cut your hair for you, but I'll need to know what length you'd like it."

"Same as before, Professor," he mumbled grumpily. With a swift motion, Severus's hair was restored to its original length, and the cut hair was vanished.

"Mr. Snape, it would not hurt to wash your hair a bit more often," she whispered. Lily thanked her teacher, and led the still-blushing Severus to the Great Hall.

"Severus, you okay?" Lily asked quietly, to which he only mumbled something incoherent. "Don't worry about them, okay? They're just– they're just arrogant, annoying gits, alright?" They entered the Great Hall, and Severus was greeted with a burst of laughter from the Gryffindor table– it seemed the story had spread.

"I'm going to– see you, Lily," Severus mumbled, walking away.

"Wait, Severus," she gestured for him to stop. Turning to the laughing students she ordered, "Get back to eating, all of you!" A few complaints met her words, but most students returned to their earlier conversations.

Lily took the opportunity to grab two plates, load them with food, and lead Severus out of the hall. "C'mon, Severus, it's much nicer out here." They strolled to an open, grassy area and sat down. The warmth from the sunlight was occasionally interrupted by a cool, late summer breeze. The lake, which was across the field, was a sparkling blue, with tinges of orange caused by the slowly descending sun. It was mostly quiet, interrupted occasionally by soft chatter from a few students sitting far away. The overall setting was genuinely much nicer than that of the Great Hall.

"Thanks, Lily," Severus mumbled, nibbling a bit of his food.

"Cheer up, Severus! Look around you! Admire the beauty!" Lily encouraged.

Severus looked up and smiled at Lily. "I am," he said softly.

Lily, however, remained oblivious to his admiration and said, "You should really eat more. Here, have some potatoes." She loaded some of her food onto his plate and refused to stop bothering him until he ate it all.

"Hey, Lily?"

"Yeah, Severus?"

"Thanks…for everything."

"You're welcome." She paused. "You know, Severus, I'll always be your friend, and I'll always be ready to help, but you have to stand up for yourself too, okay?"

"Okay." He hesitated. "You'll _always_ be my friend?"

"Always."

Severus grinned brightly, then turned away and tore a handful of grass and began tearing apart each blade.

Now that Lily wasn't crying but rather talking happily with a girl next to her and since she was sitting quite close, James only just noticed that she was quite pretty. Wavy, bright red hair and emerald green eyes.

* * *

><p><strong>This had a lot of SevLily happily together (couldn't help myself) but I think the next chapter I'll try focusing more on their separate lives, and of course, on the lives of everyone else. **

**Reviews would make me so happy :3**


	4. Chapter 3

**I realize the schedules from the last chapter I made up for them are probably a bit off, but there's really limited info go off of, so I just took my best guess.**

The weeks at Hogwarts passed in a blur. The students quickly became acquainted with their classes– History of Magic with Professor Binns turned out much more tedious than anyone had expected; Defense Against the Dark Arts was said to always be taught by a different teacher each year, and this year, it was taught by a silly little wizard who preferred to give notes rather teach hands-on material; Astronomy was interesting sometimes when they occasionally saw a shooting star but boring most days as they just learned names and movements of the celestial bodies; flying lessons were looked forward to by some and dreaded by others, and the actually lesson weeded out landlubbers from the natural flyers. The Friday afternoons off for first years were spent lounging around near the lake, sitting by the fire in the common rooms, chatting away with friends, or on rare occasions, doing homework.

Lily Evans soon gained a name for herself, as she was a skilled witch and an eager learner, proving to be a favorite of many of her teachers. Her talent really shined in Potions and Charms, her two favorite and best subjects.

Severus Snape proved to also be a very skilled wizard, just like his friend Lily, although he lacked a certain charm and was therefore not as much of a favorite student as Lily was. Other than Lily, he tended to keep to himself, making few friends even in Slytherin House, although he did make several enemies from Gryffindor House.

James Potter and Sirius Black were never spotted without one another, and they also grew closer to Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. The four became known for their pranks and antics (mostly just James and Sirius), many of which involved innocents students, Slytherins, and Severus Snape. James and Sirius were both very skilled at magic, and many teachers expressed that they should love to see the boys put the same amount of the effort into their schoolwork as they did their little capers. Remus was more reserved than his other two friends. For the most part, he studied and did well in his classes, occasionally helping James, Sirius, and Peter with their homework and other times (though fewer times than James and Sirius) horsing around with his friends. Peter, while he did not participate in James and Sirius's plots and games, did cheer them on and could truly be called their biggest supporter.

Severus, Lily, and James were all cordially invited by Professor Slughorn to join the Slug Club. Severus and Lily attended when they had the chance, as they liked the food very much, but the two mostly kept to themselves and spoke to Slughorn only when spoken to. James was usually too busy plotting with Sirius or serving detention to attend.

The winter holidays arrived, and the children all went home to their families. Lily regaled her parents with fascinating stories of Hogwarts and everything she had learned, while Petunia sulked in the corner. Severus returned to a scornful father and an inattentive mother, whose interest in his stories faded after the first two days. He did, however, pay regular visits to the Evans household and even ate Christmas dinner with them. James shared a very merry Christmas dinner with his entire family, including his grandmother, who had returned from Norway to see her favorite grandson. The winter holidays passed, and the bustle of students returned to Hogwarts, filling the halls once again with noise.

Time continued to rush by, and the last day of March marked the beginning of the Easter holidays. The Easter holidays were much more stressful, as the teachers began to pile on homework in preparation for the end-of-the-year exams, and as a result, many students stayed in Hogwarts to focus on their studies. Lily chose to stay in Hogwarts, as her parents were traveling and Petunia was staying with a friend; Severus opted to stay with her. Sirius was forced by his mother to return home, and Peter's family was traveling, so it was only James and Remus who remained of the Marauders.

"Remus," James whined, shifting restlessly in one of the common room chairs, "I'm bored."

"You know, James, you could try finishing that pile of homework sitting next to you," Remus replied without bothering to lift his eyes from his paper.

"Remus, you're no fun!"

"James, I'll be having fun after I graduate from this year, and laughing while you're held back."

"That's harsh Remus," James pouted. "And I'd never be held back."

"Says the boy with detention every week."

"Besides, I'm done with most of it. I just need to finish McGonagall and Slughorn's papers."

"How did you–?"

"I'm just that good," James grinned.

"Fine then. Just let me just finish this paper, and we'll do whatever you want," Remus sighed. "Give me five minutes."

Five minutes later, the boys were roaming through the halls looking for something to do. While turning a corner, they almost bumped into Professor Dumbledore, who smiled and asked, "Already straying from your schoolwork, Mr. Potter? Mr. Lupin? I was under the impression that Professor McGonagall had assigned quite a long paper."

"Oh, she did, sir, but we're getting to it," James grinned.

"Well, then I hope you enjoy your holiday. And Mr. Potter, do try not to upset Mr. Filch too much this holiday. Just yesterday, he presented me with a folder of your past truancies as reasons why you should be expelled."

"Will do, sir."

"And Mr. Lupin, you are managing your health? And the resources we've provided are satisfactory?"

"Very much, sir," Remus answered gratefully. "I'm indebted to everything you've done to help."

"You're much too young to be indebted," Dumbledore chuckled softly. "Now, go enjoy your holiday."

After they parted ways, James remarked, "How _is_ your health, Remus?"

"It good, thanks. Nothing to worry about. Just a little sick sometimes," the boy answered hastily, going a bit pale. He quickly changed the subject, "So what now?"

"Say, Remus, I just remembered something," James said, grinning evilly.

"I don't like the look on your face," Remus sighed.

"Guess what tomorrow is."

"Let's see, the first of Apr– Oh."

"Exactly. And since Sirius isn't here, you've got to help me."

"Alright, just tell me the plan now."

"Oh, I don't have a plan yet."

"Really? I always figured you and Sirius had a folder filled with these sorts of things."

"I'm thinking, Remus, I'm thinking. And I think… we've left Snivellus in peace for far too long."

"You're probably going to get another detention for this."

"All in a day's work," James grinned, to which Remus only sighed dejectedly.

–––

"Lily, you're still here?" a girl asked, peeping through the door.

"Yes, Mary," Lily sighed. "There's just so much work."

"Alice and I were wondering if you'd like to go watch the Gryffindor Quidditch practice. You know how she kind of fancies Frank," Mary whispered the last part.

"I do not! I just wanted to watch practice!" a shout came from the common room.

"Alright then," Lily giggled. "Count me in."

Lily closed her books and followed her two friends to the Quidditch fields. Mary MacDonald was a bright-eyed, rosy-cheeked girl, who was generally very cheerful, and Alice Edeson was a pretty and talented second-year, who was very friendly and well liked by many.

"Lily, I'm amazed you're not with Severus today," Alice commented as they walked.

"He's locked himself up with some book he found," Lily shrugged.

"Dark Magic?" Mary asked accusingly.

"It's not– no. Well, I don't know, alright?" Lily answered, throwing her hands up in frustration.

"Lily, I really don't know why you're still friends with–" Mary began.

"Mary, I like being friends with him. He helps me, he's fun to talk to, and we've known each other before we came here. You don't have to be friends with him if you don't want to, but I'll ask you not to insult him," Lily said firmly.

"He's not so terrible, Mary. I mean, he hasn't done us any harm," Alice remarked.

"Alice, you don't think _anyone _is terrible," Mary said.

"Can we _please_ not talk about this right now?" Lily pleaded.

"Alright, alright. Look! We're here, and you can see Frank!" Mary nudged Alice playfully. The girls sat down on the stands and waved excitedly to the players. A few of them who recognized the girls waved back.

"Frank, focus!" a slim but commanding girl yelled.

"Sorry, Filemina!" Frank apologized, before whacking an incoming Bludger.

"Chasers! Try out the Porskoff Ploy!" Filemina ordered. "Hunter, Double Eight Loop!" The players nodded obediently before trying out their respective tactics. After another hour of flying, Filemina finally seemed to be content and announced the end of practice.

"Frank!" Mary called out, waving excitedly.

"What are you calling him for?" Alice whispered anxiously.

"It's for your own good, Alice," Mary giggled.

"Hello girls," Frank said as he walked over.

"Oh, I just remembered I needed to go talk to uh…Matthew," Lily grinned. "Nice seeing you Frank. C'mon Mary." The two giggling girls walked off, leaving a blushing Alice alone with Frank.

"Nicely done, Lily," Mary praised as the girls walked over to the rest of the Gryffindor team. The two spent a while chatting with the team before rejoining with Alice after Frank had left.

"I can't believe you left me alone with him!" Alice said. "I made a complete _fool_ of myself!"

"Don't be silly, Alice. I hear he's taken a liking to you, too," Mary grinned.

–––

"Has he gotten it yet?" James asked as he rushed to sit down at the Gryffindor table the next morning at breakfast.

"No, the owls haven't arrived. And at least try to look innocent," Remus whispered back, as James was staring fixedly at the Slytherin table. James kept a slice of toast near his mouth as he continued staring. Suddenly the moment James had been waiting for arrived, and a flurry of owls descended into the Great Hall.

"Hey Latham," James said absentmindedly as his owl landed in front of him. Latham nibbled a bit of James's toast, but when his owner didn't respond, Latham indignantly flew away.

"Howler!" a shout suddenly rang out from the Slytherin table. Many students instinctively crammed their fingers into their ears. "Open it before it explodes!" a student urged.

The receiver opened the Howler, and the thing bellowed, "SEVERUS SNAPE, YOU GREASY GIT! YOU NEED WASH YOUR HAIR MORE OFTEN! MERLIN'S BEARD! ANYONE CAN SMELL THAT GREASY, STRINGY MOP THAT YOU CALL HAIR FROM MILES AWAY! AND TRY CARRYING A HANDKERCHIEF SOMETIME! OR USING SOME FACEWASH! YOUR GREASE IS SPLATTERING ON THE HALL FLOORS! BUT YOU PROBABLY DIDN'T KNOW THAT, SINCE IT MUST BE SO HARD TO SEE OVER THAT OVERLY LARGE NOSE OF YOURS! ALRIGHT JUST KIDDING, APRIL FOOLS! ALTHOUGH I'M SERIOUS ABOUT THE WASHING." The Howler finished and exploded.

The whole Hall was silent for a split second, then burst into laughter. As far apart as the two tables were, James could still see the furious blush coloring Snape's face. Lily Evans had already rushed over to her friend, as she struggled to find the right words to say.

"Where'd you get a Howler, anyway?" Remus whispered with a wide grin on his face.

"Oh that," James laughed, "I go–"

"POTTER! That was his voice!" Snape howled, drawing his wand. James instantly leapt up and drew his own wand as well.

"That is _enough_!" Professor McGonagall shouted, blocking the two boys from each other. Meanwhile, the entire Hall had gone silent again, eagerly waiting for what would happen next. "Mr. Snape, I must ask you to calm down first." McGonagall then turned to James, and emphasizing every word, asked, "Did you, or did you not, send that Howler to Mr. Snape?"

James gulped, but answered loudly, "I did."

"ARGH!" Snape suddenly yelled, charging at James. McGonagall quickly drew her wand and Snape was thrown back.

"Severus!" Lily exclaimed, rushing to Snape's side.

"Miss Evans, please escort Mr. Snape to the Hospital Wing and ask Madam Pomfrey to administer a Calming Draught. Meanwhile, Mr. Potter, you will come with me," McGonagall commanded. Lily dragged Snape off, just as the laughing and whispers broke out again. James smiled at Remus, who gave him a you-had-it-coming look, and followed McGonagall to her office.

"So when's my next detention, Professor?" James asked.

"Potter, I do not appreciate such cheek. The problem is, however, that I cannot give you a detention for this. You did not break any rules and it _is _April Fool's Day, but this certainly is not an action we promote at Hogwarts," she sighed.

"So… I'm free to go?"

"Of course not."

"Minerva," Professor Dumbledore said as he entered, "might I suggest something?"

"Of course, sir."

"Twenty points from Gryffindor for rudeness, and a sincere, handwritten apology from Mr. Potter to Mr. Snape," Dumbledore proposed, to which McGonagall agreed. James quickly left her office to return to the Gryffindor common room.

"How many detentions?" Remus asked as James sat down in the armchair next to him.

"None!" James smirked, as Remus expressed his disbelief. Their conversation was interrupted, however, by fellow Gryffindors who wanted to give James good-jobs and nicely-done-mates. When their classmates had returned to their own conversations, James asked in a hushed voice, "Did you manage to put them in?"

"Of course; it was unguarded the whole time," Remus whispered.

"Wonderful," James grinned.

"I say, James, two times in one day? Isn't that overdoing it?"

"No, overdoing is that one time that git attacked me (first, by the way) three times in a row! Would you like to see the scar?" James thrust his forearm in front of Remus's eyes.

"I get it! I get it!" Remus insisted, pushing James's arm away. "I still can't understand what you and Sirius have against him, anyway."

"Remus!" James sighed. "It's because– it's because…"

"You don't have a reason?"

"Of course we do. He insults us all the time, and jinxes us, and I swear he's one of those Dark Arts obsessed people. And honestly, Remus, the hair?"

"Alright, I admit, the hair bothers me too."

"Thank you."

–––

"You know, James," Remus said, as the two boys crouched behind a statue in the hallway, "you really ought to apply yourself more in class."

"Remus," James whined.

"_Diffindo _is second-year material– and you've mastered it! If you tried, James, I'm sure you and Sirius would be able to match Lily Evans- or even beat her."

"And why would I want to do that? Lily Evans has to be good all the time. If I had to care about what teachers thought about me, I'd never be able to have fun. You could learn a thing or two about fun from me, Remus."

"Wait, here he comes!" Remus suddenly whispered, pointing to Snape. The boy was walking face-down, as some students still pointed at him and giggled, while Lily tried to cheer him up.

"Alright then, _diffindo,_" James muttered, pointing his wand at Snape's bag. It ripped and several books, a pink ruffly dress, and mounds of make-up poured out. James and Remus blended into the gathering crowd, which was already beginning to point and laugh.

"My, my, Snivellus, you've got a secret hobby!" James exclaimed, picking up the dress for everyone to see. "I bet it looks great on you! But I don't think this lipstick is your shade."

Snape silently stared for a while, then his eyes began to dart from the bag, the items and James, and he suddenly snarled, "Potter."

"Right here, Snivellus," James grinned. Without warning, James was thrown back by a blast from Snape's wand, and the dress had caught fire. James only grinned, whipped out his wand and yelled, "_Tarantallegra_!" Suddenly, Snape's legs began to dance against his will, and he was soon doing what seemed like an Irish jig.

Lily Evans, however, jumped in, undid the Dancing Feet spell, and pointed her wand at James. "I dare you, Potter," she growled, "to make another move."

"Evans! Standing up for a friend, I see. But are you actually going to attack me? Risk a detention?" James gasped mockingly. With every word, Lily's scowl increased and her eyes narrowed. As James finished his sentence, she waved her wand, and his book bag rose up and began to bang against his head multiple times.

"Evans!" a deep voice called out, announcing the arrival of Kingsley Shacklebolt. His Prefect badge alone was enough to scatter the crowd. Lily immediately dropped the bag, which landed on James's head. "Lily, what's gotten into you?"

"Sorry, Kingsley," she mumbled.

"Twenty points from Gryffindor, and ten points from Slytherin. Detention for all three of you," Kingsley declared. "Severus, you'll be cleaning the trophy room tonight at six– Filch won't stop complaining about it. Lily, Potter, I think Professor Slughorn was requesting help. Go see him after dinner."

Lily pleaded, "Kingsley, can't Sev and I–"

"No."

"Fine. C'mon, Sev, let's go," Lily muttered, shooting one last dirty look at James.

"That went well, didn't it?" Remus asked cheerfully.

"For all the work we've done today, I managed to only get one detention!" James beamed.

"With Lily Evans," Remus added.

" That'll be fun," James grinned.

**James is turning out to be a spoiled bully… but I actually still kinda like him. Next chapter will have some James and Lily time. **


	5. Chapter 4

**Much love to anyone still reading right now :3**

* * *

><p>"Detention with James Potter?" giggled Mary. "How lucky!"<p>

"Not at all," Lily objected. "I can't believe Kingsley wouldn't let me do detention with Sev."

"You're not supposed to be with friends during detention anyway," Alice added.

Lily sighed and glanced at the clock. "I guess I'll head there now," she said before exiting through the portrait hole. Lily walked in silence for a while, dreading her detention with James, which would last at least one hour depending on what Slughorn needed to be done. What Lily would've given to trade places with Sev– although leaving Sev and James in the same room probably wouldn't be ideal.

"Evans!" a very unwelcome voice called out, interrupting her thoughts. Lily subconsciously increased her pace, but the footsteps behind her eventually caught up. "Why're you walking so fast, Evans?" James panted, matching her stride.

"I don't like to be late," Lily responded curtly. The two walked in silence until they entered Slughorn's office.

"Miss Evans! I didn't expect you to be my detention help," Slughorn said, his eyes wide with surprise.

"Sorry Professor," Lily whispered, eyes downcast.

"Now, now, my dear. I don't mean to scold. A little troublemaking now and then is good," Slughorn chortled to himself. "And Mr. Potter, spending another night in detention, eh? During the holidays, too!

"I just need some simple help today organizing these potion ingredients, if you don't mind. New batches from Professor Sprout and Professor Grubby-Plank. Now, Miss Evans, if you'll do this half–" he indicated a few basketfuls of potion ingredients "then Mr. Potter can do this half.

"I'm quite pleased that you've landed yourself in detention, Miss Evans," Slughorn chuckled. "It almost guarantees that everything will be perfectly sorted." He beamed at Lily, who remained silent because she didn't really know what to say to that, then departed, leaving the two alone.

"He _loves_ you," James grinned, moving to his baskets. "'Everything'll be _perfectly_ sorted.' Oh Miss Evans, you're so wonderfully talented at Potions," James said in a mocking voice, exaggerating every word.

"Shut up, Potter," Lily said through gritted teeth.

"Really, though Evans, you're so talented– you ought to have some fun with that talent."

"I _do_ have fun, just not the way you do– jinxing and hexing every innocent classmate that walks by."

James shrugged, "Got to practice on someone. And they're not all innocent– Snivellus starts half the fights."

"He only starts them because you and Black are downright gits," Lily said defensively.

"Like he's not?" James scoffed. "I may use jinxes, but your Snivelly prefers _curses_. Curses! Knows more of them than half the seventh years. And he'd use them too if the evidence couldn't be traced back to him."

Lily opened to her mouth to respond, to say that Severus would never use a curse on anyone, that he didn't even know any curses or anything Dark Art-sy at all. But she knew that would all be a lie, so she closed her mouth and ignored him. They continued working in silence, until James began to say something, sighed, then stopped. He did it again, and Lily finally asked, "What?"

"It's nothing," he said hastily, to which she gave him a suspicious look and returned to her work. After a pause, he blurted, "Evans, you're good at potions right?"

"You should know, seeing as how you just mocked me for it," Lily replied coolly.

"Well, I was wondering… can you brew a hair-raising potion?"

"We learn that as second years."

"Yes, but can you make one?"

"Why?" Lily asked, eyes narrowing in suspicion. "To play another prank on a harmless bystander?"

"Really, do you think I'd ask _you_ if I wanted to prank a random passerby?" James scoffed. "It's for a prank, but for Sirius. His hair's getting long again, and it's the perfect time to carry this plan out. He'd be an extra foot taller!"

"You want to play a prank on Sirius?"

"'Course. Just 'cause he's not here today, doesn't mean I don't have a prank waiting for him. I'll bet he has one for me too."

"Why not ask Remus?"

"Oh, Remus is smart, but he's not outstanding in potions– you're better. 'Sides, you've got no reason to object– it's for Sirius, no one else."

Lily thought about it, and finally agreed, "Alright, I'll do it–"

"Yes!"

"–but it's for Sirius only. And no jinxing anyone for– a week."

"What?" James frowned, but after a bit of thinking, agreed, "Alright, then. You sure drive a hard bargain."

"And let me cover some loopholes. No jinxing, hexing, generally attacking, starting fights, responding to fights, or using your wand in an offensive manner," Lily grinned.

"Fine, then," James pouted.

"Are you almost done with your half, then?" she asked. "I think I'll start the potion now."

"Here?"

"Professor Slughorn lets me use this room for extra practice whenever I need it."

"You really _are_ a teacher's pet!"

Lily smiled sarcastically, "If you want a good potion, it'd do well for you to refrain from insulting me."

"Right, then. Need help?" James offered.

"Hand me those, will you?" Lily asked, pointing to a few ingredients from the cupboard. When she received them, she pulled out a book and began working on the potion.

"Is that a school book?" James asked, flipping to the cover. It was a thick leather-bound book, very frayed around the edges with some binding becoming undone, titled _Tips to Perfect Your Potion_.

"No."

"It's so old!" James remarked about its yellowed pages as he read when the book was published. "Your parents' book?"

"No, Mum got it for me in the used section of Flourish and Blotts," Lily answered. "And I'm Muggle-born."

"Oh, right, you are. I remember now," he said slowly.

"Do you have a problem with that?" she asked briskly.

"Oh no! I didn't– I just meant–"

"No, I'm sorry," she apologized, her expression softening. "I didn't mean to snap at you. It's just… a sensitive subject."

"I know what you mean. I mean, I'm pureblood, but I've got nothing against Muggle-borns! I mean, you're– you're one of the best witches I've ever known. And I hate those Slytherin _gits_ who insult anyone who's not of 'noble blood' and hate Muggle-borns and Muggles. Muggles aren't even that bad! My dad's friends with some, you know. I don't know how they get one without magic, but most of them are very friendly, and…" his voice trailed off when he noticed Lily smiled very widely at him.

"Thank you," she replied. James mumbled a reply and turned away, a slight blush spreading through his cheeks.

"So, er, what's a Muggle family like? I don't– I don't mean it rudely," he added hastily.

"It's okay," Lily smiled reassuringly. "It's very similar to wizard life, just no magic."

"But how do you get places, if you can't Apparate?" James asked eagerly.

"Apparate?" asked Lily, looking up from the potion.

"You know, you Disapparate from one place, and you're suddenly in another."

"You mean like teleporting?"

"What's that?"

"Never mind. I didn't know there was a such thing as Apparating," Lily said..

"Sure there is. Most wizards Apparate. My dad says they'll teach us later."

"How fascinating! Sev never told me anything about Apparating," Lily said, but after seeing James grimace at the mention of her friend, she changed the topic. "Well, Muggles go places by walking or bicycling or driving."

"You mean, like an auto-mo-bile?" James asked.

Lily giggled at bad pronunciation, "Yes, like an au-tomobile, a car. Have you ever considered taking Muggle studies in our third year?"

"No," James laughed. "It's interesting and all, but it's too weird. No offense. I mean, I prefer life with magic."

"Honestly, so do I. I can't imagine living the rest of my life without magic– I don't know how Mum and Dad did it," Lily mused. "Anyway, here's your potion." She took a vial, scooped up some of the potion and handed it to James.

"Thanks, Evans," James grinned.

"Sirius only, remember that. And no jinxes for a week," Lily reminded him, to which he gave a little pout.

"Lily?" someone called. Severus stood at the doorway to the potions room. He was wearing a glum expression that was occasionally replaced by a glare when he looked at James.

"Hey, Sev," Lily said. "We're almost done here. I just need to clean this up."

"I'm going to tell Slughorn we're done. Thanks again, Evans," James said. He scowled at Severus and walked out of the room.

"What'd he thank you for?" Severus asked, his voice carrying the tiniest bit of suspicion.

"Oh, I made a potion for him," Lily answered simply.

"What for?"

"For– does it really matter, Sev?"

"Well– it's just– you're helping James Potter!" he yelled indignantly.

"He's not so bad, you know. He can be quite nice. You should try being friends with him," Lily suggested, but seeing his angry expression, sighed and rolled her eyes. "I'm just kidding, Sev. C'mon, let's go."

They walked out of the Potions corridor, and instead of heading back to the dormitories, Lily changed direction to the grounds. "Fancy a walk, Sev?" she asked. He nodded his assent, and Lily slipped her arm through his and led them out of the castle. The sun had already set, but the horizon was still tinged with bits of reddish purple. They could see the moon rising against the dark blue sky, and many of the stars had already made their appearances. It was fairly cool, and now and then passed a chilly breeze, which made Lily press herself closer to her friend for warmth.

They were slowly making their way to the Quidditch field when Lily suddenly said, "You know, you're getting a reputation, Sev." He raised an eyebrow, but did not answer, so she continued, "As a Dark Arts fanatic. People are starting to talk."

"Let them talk," he mumbled.

"But Sev, I'm worried. It's not good to get into that sort of stuff. Everyone says you know more curses than the seventh year class, and you spend all your time studying the Dark Arts."

"Oh really?" his eyes flashed dangerously. "And who says that? James Potter?"

She blushed a bit, but continued firmly, "Yes, he does. And so do other people."

Severus, however, seemed to only hear the first part. "Listening to Potter? The idiot who spends his free time trying hexes on every person he can lay his wand on?"

"That's not the point!" Lily shouted. They stared at each other, daring the other to continue. Lily's gaze softened, and she sighed, "I'm just worried about you, Sev."

"There's no need to be," Severus replied curtly.

"Really? I saw you talking to Mulciber the other day," Lily whispered.

"I was asking for help on some homework."

Lily gave a forced laugh and said, "Don't lie to me Sev. If anything, he'd be the one asking you for help."

"Really, Lily," Severus sighed, "don't worry about me."

She hesitated a bit, then nodded, "Alright, then Sev. Let's go back then; it's getting late." The two made their way back into the castle in silence, and parted ways with a brief good bye.

–––

Severus stayed in bed until late in the morning the next day. It was only until all his roommates had left and the Common Room had mostly emptied out that Severus made his way out of his room. He walked over to the large window that revealed the bottom of the lake. The Common Room was far from the center of the lake, so usually there were no sea creatures lurking near their window, but today Severus thought he saw a glimpse of the Giant Squid.

Severus walked over to fire, lay down on the luxurious green sofa, and stared up at the ceiling, from which hung a magnificent chandelier adorned with green emeralds. The walls were lined with sliver and decorated with beautiful green stain-glassed lanterns. The Common Room had recently been remodeled with a very generous donation from the Malfoy family. Lucius Malfoy, a seventh year Prefect, was a very ambitious and cunning student, quite haughty with a firm belief in blood-purity. Malfoy always openly stated his belief that Muggle-borns should be prohibited from Hogwarts.

Muggle-borns. Lily. Severus didn't understand why she was so worried. So what if he had a reputation for liking the Dark Arts? They fascinated him– and he wasn't about to abandon something so amazing just because of what other people said about him. And so what if he knew a lot of curses? He wasn't using them on anyone– although he really, really wanted to try some of them on a _certain student_. And he was only speaking to Mulciber the other day because he had a few questions about a certain curse– Mulciber had an even bigger reputation as a Dark Arts lover, along with his friend Avery– they hadn't been planning to use it at all. No harm, no foul.

_She has no reason at all to be worried_, Severus assured himself. But maybe he'd lay off the Dark Arts for a few days, just to let Lily have peace of mind. With that in mind, he made his way to the Great Hall. After eating a bit a food, he wandered around aimlessly around the school, glancing to see if Lily happened to be around. When she was no where to be found, he sat down next to a tall beech tree near the lake, took out his books, and began studying for the final exams.

He passed many days with this same routine, as he never once came across Lily. However, Severus didn't feel desperate to find her– as long as he was outside where people could see he wasn't reading some Dark Arts book, he felt she should be satisfied.

On the very last day of Easter holidays, while Severus was eating lunch in the Great Hall, Lily walked over to the Slytherin table and sat down next to him. It was near the end of lunch, so many students had already left, and Lily was only met with a few grimaces and expressions of disgust. She ignored them all, however, and took a bit of his shepherd's pie. Severus stared at her, waiting for her to speak.

"Hey, Sev," she said simply. "I really hope you're not mad at me." Severus shook his head, so she continued, "It might seem like I've been avoiding you, but I really haven't! I've just been busy studying and when I went to look for you, you seemed busy studying too, and I didn't want to disturb you…" She trailed off, waiting expectantly for an answer.

"It's alright," Severus said, smiling. "Here, you want some more?" He offered her more of his food, which she readily took. "Want to study together?" She nodded happily, but didn't answer, as she had just taken a big bite of pie.

They spent the last day trying to make various items tap-dance (Lily even managed to make hers put on an entire show), brewing a Forgetfulness Potion, skimming through their History of Magic notes, reviewing the unique advantages of mooncalf and dragon dung, transfiguring sugar mice (since they didn't have real ones) into ornate snuffboxes, memorizing the qualities of the planets, and studying spells against simple Dark curses (Severus more interested in the curses themselves, although he tried to pretend otherwise for Lily's sake).

"That was a good lot of work," Lily said at the end of the day, as they sat by the lake watching the sunset.

"I think we're ready for those exams," said Severus.

"Your tap-dancing charm is still weak, Sev," Lily teased.

"Dancing isn't my strong point," he said glumly. "And you're not one to talk– your snuffbox is nowhere near as pretty as mine!"

"Well then, we're almost ready for those exams."

"We're much ahead of everyone else though."

"While everyone else works, we play," Lily grinned. She shifted a bit and their fingers scraped by each other. Severus jerked his hand away, tore up a handful of grass and began shredding them. Lily grinned at his old habit.

"What's so funny?" he demanded.

"It's nothing," she replied, still grinning, and joined him in tearing up the blades of grass.

–––

James fingered the vial in the pocket of his robes eagerly. "Hey Sirius, you've got mail," James said, pointing to an owl that'd just landed in front of his friend. _What good timing_, James thought as he slipped a bit of potion into Sirius's pumpkin juice.

"What's that hag want now?" Sirius groaned.

"Your mother?" Remus asked, frowning a bit at Sirius's choice of words.

"Yeah," Sirius nodded grimly, opening the letter. "Ugh, she's managed to slip in how much a disappointment I am. Hey, can you drop this into the nearest fire?" Sirius handed it to the owl, which flew off to burn the letter.

"So what'd she want?" James asked.

"Just repeating the same things she said over the holiday– I need to work harder, cause less trouble because even though I don't bear the honorable title of Slytherin, I still need to uphold the respectable name of Black and all that rubbish," grumbled Sirius. "But enough of that, how were your holidays?"

"France was alright," Peter replied.

"It was too quiet here without you, Sirius," James sighed.

"Well, it's good to be back," Sirius declared, taking a swig of his juice. "I'd give anything to stay here for the holidays. Merlin, my family drives me crazy. And worse, I'll have to deal with perfect little Regulus next y– what's so funny?" James was sniggering softly, Lupin's eyebrows were arched high in surprise, and Peter and many fellow Gryffindors were pointing and opening laughing.

"Look for yourself, my friend," James laughed, holding a spoon in front of Sirius, who took one look and began to pat his hair, which was now completely standing on end.

"Looking good, Black!" someone down the table called out.

"Blimey!" he exclaimed, still feeling his hair.

"Happy belated April Fool's, mate," James chuckled. He caught Lily's eye and grinned. She rolled her eyes but smiled anyway.

"I dunno, James. I sort of like it," Sirius grinned.

"You really should think about getting that cut," Remus suggested.

"Not as long as Mum hates it. How'd you do this anyway?"

James took out the potion and showed it to Sirius, "Hair-raising potion."

"Nice," Sirius said, taking the vial. At that moment, the bell rang and the students filed out of the Great Hall.

Sirius's foot-tall hair drew much attention from his fellow students, who gave little teasing remarks and laughs. Professor McGonagall gave him a look of disappointment, but otherwise ignored it and said, "Exams are drawing much closer. I have already told you that it will involve transfiguring mice into snuffboxes, so I hope you have at least spent a bit of time practicing. Today you will be transfiguring teapots into ladybugs. Mr. Potter, you will work with Mr. Pettigrew, and Mr. Black will work with Miss Smith. I hope my two best students can help Mr. Pettigrew and Miss Smith improve their work."

James and Sirius looked a bit upset at being unable to work together as they usually did, but made up for it by constantly talking to each other while their respective partners were working. Remus, now left alone, walked over to Lily asked, "Hey Lily, mind if I work with you?"

There was a flicker of surprise on her face, but she replied, "Sure, Remus." The two worked in an awkward silence a bit, until Lily mumbled, "I just can't get the wings right."

"I think if you use the lid as the wings, it works better," Remus advised.

"Oh, it works!" she exclaimed, admiring her ladybug.

"Hey, Lily, I wanted to ask…er, you made the potion for James right?"

"Oh yeah, I did."

"I thought you didn't approve of his antics?"

"Oh I don't, but he said he's only use it on Sirius. And well, Sirius isn't just some random passerby, so I figured it'd be alright," she explained.

"Yeah, I think it's alright," Remus grinned, looking at his friend, whose hair was lightly swaying against the breeze from the window. It had the effect of seaweed gently swaying underwater.

"So have you begun studying for exams?" Lily asked conversationally.

"Not really. It's a bit hard to study when you're running around with James or Sirius all day," Remus grinned. "Have you?"

"I have, actually. I really hope I do well– it'd make Mum and Dad awfully happy."

"Yeah, Dad would be really disappointed if I didn't do, especially after all the trouble it took to get me here," Remus sighed. Lily looked up at him with a mixture of curiosity and confusion, but he saved from having to explain by a sudden, angry outburst.

"C'mon, Peter," James exclaimed irritably. "It's not _that_ hard."

"Sorry, James, I'm just not as good as you," Peter said in a small voice.

"Oh, don't say that!" James said, even more annoyed. He sighed and said more calmly, "Just concentrate, alright? Oh and try using the spout instead of the handle as the head." Minutes before class ended, Peter finally managed to turn his teapot into a ladybug, although it would occasionally give off a bit of steam.

"You shouldn't be so harsh on him," Remus muttered to James as they left the classroom.

"I know, I know, Remus. But really! It's not that hard," James said defensively.

"Thanks for helping me James! I just might manage to pass the exams now!" Peter said happily.

James gave a pitying sort of smile and said, "Good for you then, Peter."

They continued preparing for exams in Charms all the way until lunch. By then, Sirius's hair had mostly settled down and was merely hovering slightly about his head. They had just begun eating, when spurts of giggling and pointing broke out again, but this time directed at the Slytherin table. Severus Snape's hair, which was actually a bit longer than Sirius's, was standing on its end, just as Sirius's had in the morning. The boy finally realized that he was in the middle of the laughter and upon noticing his reflection, turned red.

"Really ought to wash that greasy mop, Snivellus!" Sirius shouted across the hall, laughing. Remus was giving James a very penetrating look, while James himself was amused but very much confused.

"James Potter!" Lily suddenly yelled. "I thought I told you only Sirius– such simple rules– but you just couldn't resist, could you?"

"But I didn't–"

"I can't believe it! And we'd had a deal!" she stood up and stomped away, pausing to drag Severus after her.

"And now she hates me again," James sighed.

* * *

><p><strong>I think from here, James is starting to like Lily, but he doesn't really know it yet… I'm not entirely sure myself :| <strong>

**The hardest part about writing this right now is remembering that most of them are only 11 or 12. **

**Anyways, reviews, comments, and suggestions would be lovely. **


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